Wind power is considered one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly energy sources presently available, and wind turbines have gained increased attention in this regard. A modern wind turbine typically includes a tower, a nacelle mounted on the tower, a generator positioned in the nacelle, and one or more rotor blades. The one or more rotor blades convert kinetic energy of wind into mechanical energy using known airfoil principles. A shaft transmits the mechanical energy from the rotor blades to the generator. The generator then converts the mechanical energy to electrical energy that may be supplied to a utility grid.
Each rotor blade is generally formed from a plurality of shell portions that are bonded together to form the exterior aerodynamic shape of the rotor blade. In this respect, the shell portions define an interior cavity within the rotor blade. One or more structural components, such as one or more shear webs, may be positioned within the interior cavity. In particular, the structural components engage the shell portions to increase the stiffness, buckling resistance, and/or strength of the rotor blade.
Conventional shear webs are expensive to manufacture. More specifically, conventional shear webs are typically formed by laying a reinforcing material, such as glass fiber, in a purpose-built mold. Pre-cut foam core is then placed in the mold on top of the reinforcing material. Additional reinforcing material is placed over the pre-cut foam core. The mold is then bagged so that the reinforcing material may be infused with a suitable resin. After infusion, the shear web is cured. The time-consuming nature of this process results in a relatively high cost to produce the shear webs and, in turn, the rotor blades.
Accordingly, improved wind turbines, and, in particular, improved shear webs for wind turbine rotor blades, are desired in the art. Specifically, shear webs that do not require the use of a time consuming manufacturing process and that are relatively less expensive to manufacture would be advantageous.